The Dark Art of Illusion
by Screaming Faeries
Summary: Barty is a lonely child, and when he finally makes friends with a popular group of people, he longs for a way to keep them all to himself. But will he take it too far? QLFC Round 9


**Written For:**

QLFC Round 9: A Very Potter Disneyland - Write your story based on Peter Pan.

 **W.C:** 3,000

 **A.N:** Thanks to Princi for concept help :-)

* * *

oOo

The shadow danced in the candlelight, following Barty's movements. He sighed as he stared at the colourless copy of his physique, waving an arm when he lifted one, kicking a leg when he did so.

His shadow was his only friend. The thought filled Barty with self pity.

It wasn't as though he hadn't _tried_ to make friends. He was in his fifth year now, and the other students just weren't interested. While Barty's father continued to put the parents of his Slytherin classmates in Azkaban, Barty would never have any friends.

Perhaps he wouldn't mind too much if his father actually paid him any attention, but he spent more time at the Ministry than at home with his son and sick wife, leaving Barty alone, and slowly learning to detest his father.

It made all the other Slytherins revolt against him. He could try to make friends with students from other houses, but he knew as well as anyone that inter-house friendships were looked on with disdain, particularly when it came to Slytherins.

oOo

"Can I sit here?"

Barty looked up from his Potions book. Lily Evans stood there with a quill behind her ear and her pretty red hair hanging loose around her shoulders. "Um…" He knew he must look alarmed—he couldn't remember the last time anybody actually spoke to him. "S-sure."

"Thanks." She slumped down into the opposite seat and glanced over at Barty. "I'm Lily. It's—Barry, right?"

"Barty," he replied. "Barty Crouch."

"Oh yeah." She smiled over at him. They sat together in silence for a while, occasionally talking, but mostly working. Barty didn't mind—he'd never had someone smile at him like he was a friend.

They were friends now, he decided inwardly.

oOo

"He's following us again," whispered Emmeline, and Barty felt his face glowing red. "Why is he always following us?"

"He doesn't have any other friends, Em," Marlene hissed.

"He's a total creep."

Emmeline earned a hard shove from Lily. "Don't be so mean," she snapped. "Hey, Barty. Walk to the Great Hall with us?"

Barty beamed and hurried after the three girls. Emmeline hung behind, sulking as Marlene and Lily chatted animatedly.

Once they reached the Great Hall, Barty made to head to the Slytherin table, but Lily grabbed his arm. "Come and sit with us?"

"At the _Gryffindor_ table?"

"There's no rule that says a Slytherin can't come and sit at the Gryffindor table."

"It's okay," Barty replied. "I'll go sit at the Slytherin table."

"No you won't," Lily snapped. "Let's go."

oOo

Barty soon became a regular at the Gryffindor table. He had felt a little awkward around Lily and her friends at first, but slowly they began to warm to him.

James and Sirius were clearly the group leaders. They were both boisterous, confident and loud, and Barty found himself wishing that he was more like them. They attracted the attention of girls; Marlene was always fluttering her eyelashes at Sirius, and Emmeline acted strangely around James—but he only had eyes for Lily.

Peter was nothing like the other two, though he tried his hardest to gain their attention. Barty couldn't help but pity him.

Remus was obviously the clever one. Being quite a rounded student himself, Barty found that he and Remus had a lot in common, and it was easy to talk to him.

Lily was his favourite, though. She always stood up for him if other students tried to pick on him. She was the perfect friend. Marlene was also nice to Barty, though he often wondered if she only acted this way because Lily did. He decided he didn't care.

It was Emmeline whom he didn't like. She obviously _hated_ Barty, and he had no idea why. It was clear that she didn't like the way he had intervened in the group, and she made her feelings very clear through snide comments.

"Where are you going this summer then, Evans?" James asked Lily, sidling up to her.

"Nowhere. My parents are trying to save money."

"What about you, Crouch?" James continued.

"My father will be too busy with work."

"I know how you feel," muttered Sirius. "My dad is _never_ home."

As the talk continued, Barty began to worry. He used to hate Hogwarts and home equally. Going home meant that he would have to face his ill mother, who was coming closer to death each day, and that terrified him. Returning to Hogwarts meant that he had to put up with the constant teasing.

But he had _friends_ now, and he didn't want to spend six weeks alone. He'd had enough loneliness to last a lifetime.

oOo

It was the day before the Hogwart's Express would be arriving to take students back to London, and Barty found himself in the library—somewhere he always frequented when he didn't want to return to the common room.

 _Why can't I just stay here for the holidays?_ He found himself wondering. _Why can't all of my friends just stay here?_

He wished more than anything that he didn't have to go home _or_ stay at Hogwarts. If only there was somewhere they could go where he could take his friends.

 _I can help you._

Barty nearly jumped out of his skin; the voice was silky, more of a breath than a whisper. He wasn't sure if it was in his own head or coming from somewhere within the library.

 _You didn't imagine me; I can help you._

"Who's there?" Barty hissed into the darkness. _"Lumos."_ He shone his wand around the shelves.

 _Follow my voice._

It whispered ineligible sounds to him, growing louder and louder as he neared it. It didn't take a genius to work out where the voice was leading him. He stopped hesitantly as he reached the roped off Restricted Section.

 _Don't you want me to help you?_

"This is the Restricted Section," Barty murmured.

 _It's just one little book, Barty. What can one little book do?_

Swallowing his next argument, Barty ducked under the velvet rope.

He knew what book he had to take. It was the only book amongst the dark shelves that was glowing eerily. He pulled it off the shelf straight and looked at the embossed triangle on the front of the purple cover with a wide eye inside it, and the thick lettering that spelled out the title: _The Dark Art of Illusionary Techniques._

He felt immediately perturbed by the word 'dark', but the book was warm in his hands. _One little book, Barty,_ the voice cooed sweetly, sounding even louder now that he was holding the book. _One little book that can make all your dreams come true._

oOo

" _You must think of every single detail of your illusion, or you will be left with holes."_

" _The illusion will take up a generous amount of your psyche, and if you do not split your time equally between reality and the illusion, you could find yourself in mortal peril."_

" _Time is frozen in your illusion. Beware the effects that losing the concept of time will have."_

" _Do not take too many people into your illusion. The mind is a fragile thing. For each person that ventures into the illusion, your psyche is crafting a new story for them. Only someone with exceptional mental prowess would be able to manage a great number of illusions."_

Barty read the words over and over again, feeling more and more excited by the minute. He had followed the instructions down to the very last detail, and he was sure that his illusion was perfect. It had been a difficult task, much more difficult than he had imagined, but he was sure it was exactly right. He could do so much with this illusion. He could make his friends like him, he could make his father love him—if time was frozen, he could take his mother there and she wouldn't get any more sick.

The book had been right when they said that crafting an illusion would affect his psyche. Almost immediately, Barty began to feel dizzy. He could physically _see_ the new world inside his head, and he could almost feel it bursting through the seams of his brain, threatening to spill through his eyes and ears.

However, the book said that someone of _exceptional mental prowess_ could manage an illusion, and he was pretty confident in his personal mental prowess.

Now that the world inside his mind was created, all he had to do was alert his friends. He wanted to bring them into his world, show them what he had done. Hurriedly, he scribbled a note to all of his friends—including Emmeline, whom he wanted to show off the illusion to most of all—and sent his owl off.

oOo

"I don't know about this, Barty." Lily was apprehensively looking at the purple book, which Remus was holding.

"I agree," Remus added. "What were you doing in the Restricted Section? You know it's out of bounds unless you have a permission slip."

"Don't listen to those two goodie-goodies, Crouch," Sirius said.

"Yeah, I think it sounds cool," James agreed.

"I do too," piped up Peter. Marlene didn't say anything, though Barty could tell from the conflicted expression on her face that she didn't know who to agree with..

Emmeline leaned against the fireplace, glaring down at Barty with a glint in her eye. "Well, I want to see this 'masterpiece'," she sneered. "If there even is one."

"There is!" Barty snapped, glowering.

"Then prove it!" challenged Emmeline.

Barty nodded firmly, and stood up. "We all have to hold hands and stand around the book," he ordered. He carefully laid the book down on the floor and stood in front of it. The others stood around him, Emmeline being the first to join hands with Barty. Sirius, Peter, James and Marlene joined next, but Remus and Lily hesitated. "Look, nothing bad will happen," he promised, his gaze focused on Lily. "Trust me."

Lily nodded. "Okay. I trust you."

oOo

When Barty opened his eyes, sunlight was burning his retinas, and he sat up quickly. He was in some kind of treehouse, and there was a girl standing over by the window, cooking something on a furnace.

His head suddenly seared with the shock of a thousand memories, and he keeled over, clutching his head and screaming.

 _Hogwarts. He was sorted into Slytherin. Sitting alone at the Slytherin table. Having no one to work with him in Potions…_

"Barty? Barty, what's wrong?"

 _...Visiting Hogsmeade alone in his third year. Seeing couples wandering around on Valentine's day. Not going home for Christmas..._

"Barty!"

 _...Lily. Beautiful Lily Evans talking to him in the library. Making friends with the other Gryffindors, sitting at their table during meals. And finally, finding that book in the library._

His eyes sprang open, and Lily swarmed into view. She was dressed demurely in a grubby blue dress, and had a ripped, stained apron around her waist. Regardless, she still looked beautiful. "Lily?"

"What is it? What's wrong?"

He remembered the illusion, and remembered the words in the book. He had to stay in control. "How long have we been here?"

Lily looked confused. "Did you bump your head? We've always been here, silly. For as long as I can remember."

Barty pulled himself to his feet, and caught sight of his reflection in a broken mirror on the far wall. He was dressed in a brown shirt and matching shorts, and he had a dagger in his belt. He patted his pocket suddenly, but it was gone. "Where is my wand?" he asked, looking over at Lily.

"Your what? Your bow is over there, but please have some breakfast before you go out hunting with the other boys."

"The others…" Barty wandered over to the window, peering down into the forest below. He could see trees for miles, but there was the shimmer of a sparkling blue lake glimmering through the trees. Just below the treehouse, four other boys sat on the branches, all wearing the same brown garbs as he was, all carrying handmade weapons. "This is so weird."

"You're the one who's acting weird." Lily pressed a hand to his forehead. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Lily, we have to go down to the lake right now!" a high-pitched voice suddenly stung at Barty's ears. He whirled around and came face to face with a tiny, shrunken down version of Marlene. She was no taller than thirty centimetres, and was dressed in a green, leafy garment. A pair of elegant, golden wings protruded from her back.

"What is it, Marlene?" Lily questioned, allowing Marlene to perch on her shoulder.

"It's that mermaid again," Marlene muttered. "She's caused a tidal wave to blow over all our crops in the garden!"

Barty couldn't help but laugh out loud. It seemed like such a trivial storybook issue, it surely couldn't be realistic. When his friends didn't laugh back, he bit his tongue, remembering the illusion. His psyche had unwittingly created storylines and issues for him and his friends, and apparently this was one of them.

oOo

The days seemed to pass by in a blur. They solved problems that the illusion brought up, Lily cooked vegetables and fish that she caught from the lake, and Barty ran around the forest with the other boys. He soon discovered where Emmeline was—it turned out his hatred for the girl had followed him into the illusion, as she had transformed into a cruel, fanged mermaid. She was usually the antagonist for all of the issues that were brought up for Barty and his friends.

The illusion became his reality, and he slowly began to forget about what was real, outside of his head.

Lily woke him at the same time each day, and she and Marlene fawned over him, something which he found strange. Sirius and James seemed to look up to him, and Peter clung to his side like a wet rag, hanging onto his every word.

If anything, it was beginning to irritate Barty.

Finally, the boring days were cut when Marlene suddenly burst through the treehouse window, as she often did. "Barty, Lily, you must come urgently!"

At first, Barty didn't even look up. He was so used to this by now. It would be another Emmeline problem, it always was. "What is it?" Lily gasped, sounding just as shocked as she always did. She was _always_ surprised.

"I can't explain it, you must come quick!"

Barty dragged himself out of the treehouse and headed outside. He quickly learned what it was that had Marlene so spooked.

A hand, a real, human hand, was poking through the clouds. It was about the width of Barty's waist, with fingers that grabbed at everything it could. There was a golden ring on one of the fingers, and Barty couldn't help but find it quite familiar.

"You have to do something, Barty!"

"It's going to crush us!"

"What _is_ it?"

The voices of his friends made Barty want to return to his treehouse and hide. He hated how they all looked to him as the hero, and expected him to solve all of their problems. But the hand wasn't going away. "Marlene, give me a lift up to it," he muttered, retrieving his dagger from his belt hook.

Marlene nodded, and grasped Barty by the shoulders. Her little wings could apparently carry a lot of weight, as she easily managed to soar up to the giant hand with Barty in tow.

"Watch yourselves!" he shrieked down to his friends, as he began to hack at the wrist of the hand. Blood spurted from the wound, covering Barty and Marlene and raining down on the forest, but he didn't stop. He kept hacking and hacking at the hand, until there was only the slightest amount of ligaments and tendons to cut through. The hand fell down to the ground, landing on the trees with an earth-quaking thud, and blood poured from the sky like a waterfall.

Everything went red.

oOo

He was in hospital. Barty knew that before he opened his eyes. There was a distinct smell to St. Mungo's, which he had come to recognise after visits to see his mother.

He sat up, rubbing his head. Around him, his friends lay sleeping in hospital beds. "You're awake," a voice spoke. He looked at the chair beside him, seeing his father sitting there with a bandage on his wrist and hand. His father looked tired; heavy bags were present beneath his eyes, and his face looked more lined than usual.

"What happened to you?"

"I found you in that room with your friends. I thought...I thought you were all dead. Barty, you were starving and dehydrated. You were barely alive."

"What?" memories flooded back to Barty, and he remembered creating the illusion, and bringing his friends into it. "We were only...it had only been a few days."

"Barty," his father said in a sombre tone. "You and your friends have been in a coma induced by that dark book for three months."

Barty's head throbbed as he remembered details from the illusion. The hand, the blood. He glanced at his father's bandage. "Your hand...did I do that?"

"We were trying to wake you up. We figured out what you had done when we studied the book. I risked trying to join you in your illusion, to get you out of there...but my hand was cut off."

"I'm sorry, Dad."

"It's okay. It's sore, but thanks to the Healers here, it will grow back."

Barty was silent. "Have I ruined everything?"

"Your friends have received intensive memory charms, as they simply wouldn't be able to manage the return to the real world without it. But...we couldn't do that for you. The illusion was too deep."

"I don't want to forget," Barty mumbled, looking down at his balled fists. "I can't forget. I need to remember." He paused. "I need to make sure I don't make that mistake again."


End file.
